Water conveyances have taken inumerable forms throughout history from hollowed out logs to modern sophisticated mechanisms.
One shortcoming of many water conveyance designs resides in the hull. While considerable effect has been expended on hull design, it still requires significant amounts of power to drive the hull through the water. This reduces the efficiency of the driving mechanism as well as the speed that can be attained by the conveyance. For this reason, recent years have seen the evolution of conveyances which ride over the water to reduce resistance. The hydrofoil is one device for this purpose.